Sen. Rand Paul said Thursday the FBI needs more oversight and there needs to be some way to keep the agency out of elections.
“Maybe we need to be more careful and figure out a way the FBI doesn’t insert itself into campaigns,” Mr. Paul, Kentucky Republican, said on MSNBC.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a situation where the FBI was this much involved in the middle of a campaign,” he said.
Mr. Paul has long been a critic of mass data collection concerning American citizens. He said that the situation with Rep. Devin Nunes’ memo alleging possible abuses at the agency in collecting surveillance warrants shows that there needs to be more separation between the justice system and politics.
The senator also said that a lot of the political background concerning agents at the FBI would not have even come to light if the agency hadn’t inserted itself into the 2016 election both with Hillary Clinton’s email case and now the investigation into President Trump’s campaign.
Texts messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, both of whom were involved in the investigation into Mr. Trump, showed Democratic bias and anti-Trump sentiment. Campaign contributions to Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe’s wife, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Virginia Senate in 2016, came from former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s political action committee.
The revelations have led Republicans to argue there is bias at the organization and political motivations behind the investigation into Mr. Trump.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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